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Aberystwyth University leads £20m programme to boost the green economy in Wales
Aberystwyth University is leading a £20m BEACON programme which could boost the green economy in Wales and contribute to combating climate change.
The programme will aim to develop new technologies and new ways of making products that are traditionally made from oil and will establish Wales as a Bio-refining Centre of Excellence.
BEACON will also build closer links between universities and industry, promote Welsh expertise in scientific research and innovation within Europe and the United States and boost inward investment in these technologies for the benefit of Wales.
The Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth is the lead organisation in the programme in collaboration with Bangor and Swansea universities.
The pioneering research will involve bio-refining – developing sophisticated processes to turn locally grown crops into valuable chemicals and commercial products, ranging from fuels to cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, food and health products, whilst cutting back on emissions of greenhouse gases.
The benefits include that the new energy crops can be grown on land that is not suitable for other arable uses, that replacing some of the industrial chemicals produced from oil with similar molecules from plants that could supply potential markets within easy reach of Welsh producers that could be worth between £360m and £560m and that they include new materials called bio-composites and bio-plastics.
Also, turning crops such as Rye Grass and Artichokes into valuable fuels and chemicals would cut back on greenhouse gases, would increase fuel and chemical security whilst adding value to Welsh agriculture and the economy, chemicals derived from energy crops have uses in a range of sectors, including transport, the environment and housing and health, and as well as creating and safeguarding rural economy jobs, the pioneering work will help develop science in Wales.
Vice-Chancellor of Aberystwyth University, Professor Noel Lloyd said: "By pooling the knowledge and using the joint expertise of our three universities, we can develop centres of excellence across Wales to respond to a major global challenge."
Further information:
Aberystwyth University
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